Should the 2022 FIFA World CUp have taken place in Qatar?

Some people think holding the World Cup in Qatar was the wrong choice. But why do they think this?

Geography

This was the first World Cup ever to be hosted by a Middle Eastern nation. Despite having an area of just 11,571 km² (12 times smaller than the UK), 1.5 million people have come to watch the football This has caused overcrowding during the tournament There is also the question of whether it was safe to play football in Qatar’s extreme climate. Qatar has a hot desert climate, and in the summer, temperatures can reach above 45oC. FIFA had to move the event to the Winter for the first time in history, however even in Winter the weather can peak around 30 degrees Celsius. Regardless of the fundamental geographical problems of holding the World Cup in Qatar, what this World Cup does signify is the continuing shift of economic power towards the gulf states. The state of Qatar, most well known for being a centre of oil and gas trade, is choosing to project its image through football.

Industry

As with any World Cup, the sure winners are the travel, hospitality, and car rental sectors. Hotels and restaurants across Qatar will be expecting profits to rocket during the month long tournament. Since 2010, eight new, state of the art stadiums have been constructed, including the 80,000 seater Lusail stadium, around which an entire city has been built. With new cities, comes new roads, new public transport systems, new airports, new everything. In the hive of activity, the construction industry has benefitted massively.

Human rights abuse in Qatar

Qatar has a colossal migrant workforce. In fact, a report from 2017 suggested that, of the country’s 2.6 million population, 2.1 million of those were migrant workers. These workers come mostly from South Asian countries like India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka. Qatar’s population increased by almost 40% after it was awarded the World Cup in 2010. Shockingly, the Guardian found that over 6,500 migrant workers have died since Qatar was made World Cup host, although not all of them were on World Cup construction sites. That is twelve deaths a week between 2011 and 2020. Common causes of death included blunt trauma and hanging. Only thirty four deaths were officially attributed to stadium work, often caused by cardiac arrest or respiratory failure. It cannot be confirmed whether these were the result of persistent work in the extreme heat or the result of underlying working conditions. The Qatar government has insisted that these staggering figures are normal and proportional to the unprecedented size of the workforce. However, the US state department has previously reported working conditions in Qatar as equivalent to that of slavery, with some workers receiving punishments such as withdrawal of salaries, beatings, and even sexual assault. Why could it be good to go and watch the football live, in Qatar?

Experience The Culture

During the tournament, Qatar is holding various exhibitions and themed events specially for guests, where you will have the opportunity to get closer to the culture and learn more about the civilisation of the Middle east.

Proximity of the stadiums

A big game changer for this World Cup is that all eight stadiums are within 30 minutes of each other which means you can watch more than one live match a day.

It is something different

This is the first ever World Cup to be hosted in a Middle Eastern country which means there are lots of things to see and do; from visiting the world famous Souq Waqif market to taking a desert safari tour.

While I think there are some positive things about having the World Cup in Qatar, I think that, overall, it was the wrong choice to have the World Cup in Qatar. This country did not have the correct facilities for an event as big the World Cup, and as a result had to use poorly treated migrant workers. They also have not got enough space to accommodate the influx of people visiting. There are many other countries that could have been a better choice to host the World Cup.